Groundwork

Food and drink · County · Florida

Restaurants and cafes in Palm Beach County, FL

How Palm Beach County, FL compares with other counties and the U.S. for restaurants and cafes: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 55 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #981 of 2,405 scored counties
#40 of 65 scored counties in Florida

Listings
6,605
2,117 chain locations (32%)
Official establishments
2,865
+8.8% since 2019
Household spending a year
$2.5B
On food away from home · $4,152 a household
Spending per listing
$381K
3% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
109.1
In line with the U.S.
Population, 2025
1,575,726
+5.5% since 2020

See the restaurants and cafes around any address in Palm Beach County

The site report maps the restaurants and cafes on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of Palm Beach County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

As of September 2026, map listings count 6,605 restaurants and cafes in Palm Beach County. 2,117 of them (32%) are chain locations, against 34% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 109.1, in line with the U.S. rate of 109.8.

Households in Palm Beach County spend about $2.5B a year on food away from home, or $4,152 per household, 2% above the U.S. average. Spread across 6,605 restaurants and cafes, that is $381K per restaurant, 3% above the U.S. figure of $371K.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in Palm Beach County was 2,865 in 2023, up 8.8% from 2019. That is one for every 211 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. Another 1,096 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 114 SBA-backed loans worth $96.2M have gone to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Palm Beach County.

Population estimates put the population change in Palm Beach County from 2020 to 2025 at +5.5%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). For restaurants and cafes, Palm Beach County has a Groundwork market score of 55 (upper middle): #981 of 2,405 scored counties and #40 of 65 scored counties in Florida.

How Palm Beach County compares

The same measures for Florida and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all food away from home by the restaurants and cafes counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.

Restaurants and cafes in Palm Beach County, FL compared with Florida and the U.S.
MeasurePalm Beach CountyFloridaU.S.
Listings per 10k households109.1112.4109.8
Spending per listing$381K$342K$371K
Households per official establishment211223209
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+8.8%+11.6%+6.0%
Population growth, 2020–2025+5.5%+8.7%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$4,152$3,841$4,070
Median household income$83,581$74,568$80,734
Groundwork market score5546

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
2,633 → 2,865+8.8% over the period
Employees, 2023
60,433
Annual payroll, 2023
$1.6B
One-person businesses, 2023
1,096Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
6,6052,117 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
6,780The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
114
Amount
$96.2M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as restaurants and other eating places in Palm Beach County, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3.

Population and households in Palm Beach County

Population, 2025 estimate
1,575,726+5.5% since 2020
Households
605,430
Median age
45.7
Homes lived in by their owners
70%
Vehicles per household
1.6
Land area
1,964 sq. mi.
People per square mile
781
Median household income
$83,581+32.0% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$128,577
Median home value
$447,300
Jobs located here
678,049
Daytime population
1,576,309Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Palm Beach County?

These figures cover the whole county. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the restaurants and cafes on map listings by name and distance.

Or open the report at the center of Palm Beach County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Restaurants and cafes across Florida

Every Florida market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Florida for restaurants and cafes, numbered among those based in Florida, with Palm Beach County marked.

Top counties in Florida

Counties in Florida ranked for restaurants and cafes by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Sumter County, FL9033747.9$782K+21.1%#22 of 2,405
2Santa Rosa County, FL8655276.0$548K+11.7%#53 of 2,405
3Gilchrist County, FL824360.1$581K+14.5%#106 of 2,405
4Flagler County, FL8239074.2$523K+21.0%#112 of 2,405
5Wakulla County, FL8210078.5$486K+12.3%#113 of 2,405
6Union County, FL802251.0$664K+5.2%#132 of 2,405
7Clay County, FL7967780.9$499K+9.4%#157 of 2,405
8Pasco County, FL781,85078.3$477K+19.1%#184 of 2,405
9Glades County, FL772453.3$572K+9.9%#195 of 2,405
10Charlotte County, FL7770377.6$463K+15.5%#209 of 2,405
40Palm Beach County, FL556,605109.1$381K+5.5%#981 of 2,405

Other business types in Palm Beach County

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many restaurants and cafes are in Palm Beach County, FL?

Palm Beach County has 6,605 restaurants and cafes on map listings as of September 2026. 2,117 of them (32%) are chain locations. The listings count every restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and food truck. Official counts show 2,865 businesses with payroll classed as restaurants and other eating places in 2023, up 8.8% from 2019. Official counts list 1,096 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Palm Beach County, FL spend on food away from home?

About $2.5B a year, or $4,152 per household. That is 2% above the U.S. average (an index of 102, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 6,605 restaurants and cafes on map listings, it comes to $381K per restaurant. It is estimated from the incomes of the 605,430 households in Palm Beach County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Palm Beach County, FL compare with the U.S. for restaurants and cafes?

Palm Beach County has 109.1 restaurants and cafes per 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 109.8. Spending per restaurant is $381K, 3% above the U.S. figure of $371K. At the national ratio of restaurants and cafes to household spending, Palm Beach County would have about 6,780, against 6,605 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 211 households, against one for every 209 across the U.S. The official count rose 8.8% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.0% for the U.S.

How fast is Palm Beach County, FL growing?

Population estimates put Palm Beach County at 1,575,726 people in 2025, up 5.5% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 605,430 households. The median household income in Palm Beach County is $83,581 a year, 4% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 32.0% from the 2015–2019 survey, before inflation.

What is the Groundwork market score?

The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. Palm Beach County scores 55 for restaurants and cafes (upper middle), #981 of 2,405 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Palm Beach County. It maps the restaurants and cafes on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.

How the score works · Top markets for restaurants and cafes · All 56 business types in Palm Beach County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Palm Beach County?

A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.

The button opens the report at the center of Palm Beach County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.